Nearly 190,000 German business closures were recorded in 2025, about 10% more than a year earlier, according to calculations by the ZEW Institute and creditors’ protection association Creditreform.
Formal insolvencies accounted for only about 13% of the shutdowns, the joint findings showed, indicating that most companies left the market without going bankrupt.
ZEW researcher Sandra Gottschalk said demographic pressures were becoming increasingly important as business owners retired without finding successors, forcing otherwise viable companies to close. Retirements accounted for 29% of voluntary closures among owner-managed family businesses in 2025.
The hospitality sector recorded the sharpest increase, with closures rising 15% to about 15,000. Around 24,000 construction businesses and 11,000 manufacturing companies also shut down during the year.
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Healthcare recorded about 11,000 closures, while medical practice shutdowns rose 23% to around 5,500 as retiring doctors struggled to find successors.
ZEW cited economic stagnation, skilled-worker shortages and rising energy and personnel costs among the pressures facing German businesses.
Competition from Chinese imports and US tariff policies also contributed to the trend, according to Gottschalk.
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Creditreform spokesman Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch said attention often focused on large corporations, while the number of small and medium-sized enterprises quietly disappearing from the market was substantially greater.
Germany’s government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz has sought to revive growth through spending and reform packages as the economy faces prolonged stagnation and continued pressure on its automotive sector.
